The Hitman
by Far from normal
Summary: Err, woman, rather. When Artemis gets hit in the head with a golf ball,he doesn't realize that someone wants him dead. The woman with the bad shot constantly occupies his mind, but she has her own secret that is about to get the best of her. Artemis
1. Chapter 1

**Hello...it's far from normal, obviously. I like Artemis Fowl, as you can tell. I am sorry to insult your intelligence with the disclaimer that I don't own this. I REALLY LIKE REVIEWS! So please review if this story had even the slightest impact on you. After all, you were interested enough to click on it...**

Chapter One

"FORE!" came a shout, about two miliseconds too late. By the time Artemis Fowl heard the warning, he was on the ground with a throbbing pain on the right side of his forehead. Butler was bending over him, clearly hoping that whatever had hit him hadn't killed him.

"Master Fowl, are you all right?" he asked, holding up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Artemis stared at his butler's hand for a moment, then answered, "Four, I think, Butler. Help me up. What was that?"

At that moment, someone stumbled through a bush with a golf club in her hand. She seemed distraught. "Did I hit anyone?"

Butler and Artemis exchanged looks. "Yes, you hit me, I'm afraid."

The young woman covered her mouth as her face turned a lovely shade of pink. "I am so sorry, it really was an accident. Is there anything I can get you?"

Artemis raised his eyebrow as he attemped his patented look of sceptism. It wasn't pulled off as is should have been to to the rather large goose egg blossoming over his right eye. "Some ice would help, I think."

"Oh, right. Of course it would. I can run up to the club house real quick and bring it back-"

"Or we could go up with you and you just buy it," Artemis said, immediately picking up her American accent. She was already raking on his nerves. The sun wasn't improving his mood either.

"Yeah, that would make more sense,"she said, her face turning as red her blouse.

She stood there for a moment, he could tell she was trying to think of something.

"I think we should start walking, don't you?" he asked, feeling more and more contempt with her every second.

"Yeah, this way," she said, starting off to her left.

"The other way," he corrected, and when she corrected herself, he followed her.

At the club house, after she had bought him an ice back, they sat in the living room set up. She still looked really nervous.

"Dude, I am so sorry. I really didn't m-"

"Yes, you've said so several times since it happened. And I'm tired of hearing it," Artemis snapped at her. It was true. Ever since it happened, she had been constantly apologizing.

She looked astonished for a moment, then leaned back into her chair, delibrately closing her mouth.

It was quiet for a few minutes, and Artemis was thankful for that. He could feel a monstrous migraine coming on.

"Well," the girl stood up, brushing her hand together, one gloved, the other not. "I guess if there's nothing more I can do, I'll take my leave, then."

She didn't wait for an answer. She turned and headed toward the door. "Wait," Artemis commanded. And indeed, it wasn't just an idle request.

He watched her stop. He could tell she was thinking about not continuing her way out the door. She finally turned around.

"What name should I put on the papers should I choose to sue you?" he asked. Not the best line to find out a girl's name, but a line none the less.

She smiled slightly for a brief moment.

"Rowan. Rowan Smoke," she told him, then she turned and left.

"How did that go?" David asked her as she returned to the hole they had been previously at.

"Not bad, considering I missed. He seemed to really hate me," Rowan replied as she pulled out a five iron and peered at it skeptically.

"Well, you did just hit him in the head with a golf ball."

"Yes, but I didn't kill him, did I?" she stated, almost wispfully.

"No, you didn't. But what does that matter. At least we'll be able to see more of the beautiful Irish countryside, eh?"

"The sooner we get home the better." Rowan's answer was as abrupt as it was surprising.

"But you love Ireland, you said so yourself last time we were here," David pointed out as she teed up.

Rowan didn't reply. She didn't want him to know her reason for wanting to get home soon. She didn't want anyone to know. And if she didn't get home soon, it would definitely be a disaster. Instead, she teed off again, and her drive landed the ball directly on the green of their par 4.

**If you didn't like it, I don't care. But if you thought to was even slightly interesting, please, let me know. REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Are you all right, Artemis? You seem a bit quiet," Butler mentioned as his master drove them home.

"Yes, Butler, I am great for just being hit in the head with a golf ball by an American girl. I'm thinking, Butler. I'm always quiet when I'm thinking."

Butler just nodded. He didn't need to ask what Artemis was thinking about. It was about a certain Miss Rowan Smoke. Miss Smoke had definitely caught Artemis Fowl's attention. Whether it was good or bad, that question had yet to be answered. For now, it was safe to say she occupied his thoughts.

"She seemed to me that she was new money," Artemis stated as they pulled infront of the gate to Fowl Manor.

"Did she? What makes you say that?" Butler questioned.

"If she was old money she would have called me an idiot for getting in the way of her 'perfect drive.'" The joke surprised Butler. Though Artemis had loosened up in the years since his return from Hybras, his jokes were very few and even farther between each other.

"I see."

Artemis was silent all the way to the car house, and even into the manor. Suddenly, he was rushed by two blurs that hit just below the hip. The attack made Artemis smile.

"Arty, you're home!" both boys said at the same time.

"Hello, Connor, hello, Evander."

Connor looked up at his older brother. "What happened to your head?"

At that time, Artemis' mother came down the stairs. Angeline fowl walked up to her son and brushed the hiar away from his forehead. "Yes, dear, what happened?"

"Stray golf ball, I'm afraid," Artemis told her as he extricated himself from his five-year-old brothers' grip.

"Thank heavens you're all right, did the person apologize?"

"Yes, a lot," Artemis said with awry smile. "It was quite annoying, actually."

"Who was it? Was it McNair's youngest? He was having some trouble on the course last I hear. Or was it-"

"You don't know her, she is an American. Seemed to be new money besides."

"What was her name?" Artemis Fowl senior asked, coming from his study. He had caught Artemis resonse to his mother's question.

"A Miss Rowan Smoke. Her golf drive was really off."

Angeline tutted. "Let's get some ice on it before it swells more. Butler, would you mind?"

"No, ma'am. I'll be right back."

As Butler walked away, Artemis was interrogated for a few more long moments, then retreated to the den to speak with his father about some business. Butler brought in his ice, then left to tend to some behind the scenes work for the young Artemis Fowl.

Rowan was angry. Scared. Tired. The Fowl kid was the last thing she needed right now. Okay. He wasn't a kid; he was older than she was. But he was a target, nothing more.

Rowan wanted to go home. She loved her job, but this one assignment couldn't have come at a worse time.

She couldn't sleep that night. She sat in the sitting room of her suite, listening to David's incessant snoring. The television was on, but she wasn't paying attention to whatever sappy show was on. Her thoughts were on the events of the last several weeks.

"_You're pregnant, Miss Smoke," Dr. Peke informed her after the examintation._

"_What?" Rowan asked._

"_You're pregnant. You have all the signs. You say you've been queasy and vomiting on and off during the day, you're getting weird cravings, but can't eat anything because of the queasiness, and when was you're last period?"_

_He had a point there. She realized her period was late._

"_May I ask who the father is?" Dr. Peke asked, expecting a pleased answer._

"_No."_

_His face looked crestfallen. Rowan didn't feel guilty. He didn't need to know who had gotten up her skirt. No one did._

"_How far along, would you say?"_

"_About three weeks. You don't seem to happy about the news."_

_Rowan wasn't. She couldn't be. This pregnancy had come at a bad time. She put her head in her hands. "What am I going to do?"_

"_There are several options. You could keep the child. You could put it up for adoption. If you want, I could always make an arrangement for-"_

"_No, I won't have an abortion. I don't think." She corrected. Maybe, her mind suddenly said. "I have a big project at work. It's going to keep me busy. If I'm back in time, maybe. But as of now, I won't do it."_

"_Well, I hope this project doesn't take too long. You only have until the end of the first trimester, which is twelve weeks. And some doctor's won't risk the last two weeks."_

"_All right." But Rowan wasn't really listening. Not anymore._

That had been two weeks ago. Now, she didn't think waiting until she was done here to get an abortion. She should have had it done right then, right there. He had offered. She no longer knew why she had turned him down. Tears poured down her face and she pressed a hand to her abdomen. Twenty and pregnant. She smiled ruefully. At least she had lasted four more years than her sister did.

The phone rang. She let it ring once more before picking it up.

"Hello?" she asked softly; she was thankful the tears weren't in her voice.

"Miss Smoke, I'm glad you're still up. We need to meet and talk." It was none other than Artemis Fowl the Second.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a crappy chapter, sorry, dudes.**

Chapter Three

David knew there was something wrong with his partner when she had hurried out of the hotel room at five in the morning. She had been really out of it lately, and that scared him. Though she thought if him only as a partner, he thought of her as a friend. And he knew that things were really out of whack with her.

Sighing, he answered the phone that had been ringing on the inn table for a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"David, it's Donovan. You're off the Fowl case."

David sat up.

"What?"

"Sorry, that's the orders, you're off the case. Boss wants Smoke to handle this one alone. You're on the next plane out of there, you hear?"

David didn't argue, but his hand gripped the receiver hard.

"Yessir. I'll be gone."

"Good."

Donovan hung up the phone before David could say anything else. David angrily packed his things, knowing he was going to follow those orders. But his partner seemed to really need someone right now.

Looking up at the mansion in front of her, Rowan was impressed. The gate had opened and closed on its own so there was obviously cameras everywhere. The manor itself was pretty amazing compared to her pent house apartment in Chicago. With a swallow and a steeling of her shoulders, she left her rented jaguar and walked up the stairs to the large front door. She knocked three times.

A pretty woman in her mid twenties answered. Rowan recognized her from the files she had been supplied; it was Juliet Butler, Domovoi Butler's younger sister. And almost as dangerous as the body guard himself.

"Good morning, are you here at this ungodly hour for a reason?" the girl asked. She seemed annoyed to be up at six in the morning.

"Yes, Mr. Fowl asked me to see him here," she explained.

Butler looked her up and down, then allowed her in with a frown.

"You can wait here for Artemis. I'll go get him," she said as she led Rowan into a parlor.

Rowan sat down on the expensive furniture and waited in silence. 'Be peppy, upbeat, like any young girl would be,' she thought to herself. 'Don't think about the baby, or the fact that if they find you out one or both of the Butlers would kill her.'

"Miss Smoke, thank you for meeting me," Fowl greeted her as he entered the parlor.

"It was not a problem, I was heading out to go to the gym this morning anyway," Rowan said with a smile she didn't feel. "How's your head?"

"No concussion, but it's still quite sore," he said lightly.

They were silent for a moment. Rowan felt as if she was under serveilance. That was a silly thought, she knew she was. They would be crazy to not have a camera in this room.

"You needed to talk to me about something?" she prompted.

"Oh, yes, I did. I noticed your accent earlier. I wanted to know what you were doing in England?"

That one was easy.

"Summer break from school. I attend Oxford as part of a study abroad program and I thought to visit Ireland during my stay over seas. This is a beautiful country," she said with a smile. Her story was well rehearsed.

"Hmm. No family with you?"

"A friend is staying with me."

"I see. Do you do much with computers, Miss Smoke?"

Uh-oh. "Yes, I'm a journalism major, so I spend a lot of time one the computer. What is this, Mr. Fowl?"

The taller, formidable man approached her. She could see angry flare in his mesmerizing icy blue eyes. "I was recently on my computer last night when I noticed a security breech. It came from a laptop withing a forty-mile radius. I thought you might know something about it."

Rowan smiled and laughed softly. "Mr. Fowl, why would I want onto your computer. And why would you even suspect me?"

"I looked you up on line, Miss Smoke, and your name popped up in some interesting places, such as winner of the junior US Open 1998. And then you seemed to disappear. I wondered why, until I thought about how a golf champion could screw up a shot so bad that it hit another person in the head. Or was that a planned shot?"

"What does this have to do with my computer? And Mr. Fowl, I've never played golf before in my life until yesterday." She stood up. "If you are finished being completely paranoid, I will leave now."

She tried to slide passed him, but he grabbed her arm. He was surprisingly built for a man who didn't work much, he must have spent a lot of time in the home gym.

"I can track and hack almost any computer, especially if they've been in mine, Miss Smoke. Do you care to tell me who you're working for and why you have been planning to assissinate me?"


	4. Chapter 4

**It's been a long time, I know, but I, uh, kinda, uh, forgot that I, blush had a fanfiction. :)**

**Enjoy. You'll hate it.**

Chapter Four.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Rowan's thoughts were along those lines as she stared back into those icy eyes.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Fowl. Please let go of me."

Artemis looked down into those scared bluer than blue eyes. Even in fear, she was beautiful, even more so. Her cheeks had a blush to them and her her eyes were wide. He felt a perverted, smug joy erupt inside him that he could make her look that way. He felt another urge to kiss her, but he battled that one down. It was not the time.

"Bullshit, Miss Smoke. Answer my question. Now," he commanded, realizing that his teeth were gritted.

She tried to tug away from him one last time, but her wouldn't have any of it. Miss Smoke just looked up at him through those wide blue eyes and tilted that stubborn chin.

"I've nothing to tell you," she hissed.

That pissed him off, that glint in her eye, the anger now flaring there as well. As if was the one to fault. He thrust her away from him, and onto the couch. She landed and caught herself to stand back up.

"Don't move," he ordered. Something in his gaze must had scared her to the point of compliance, because she did in fact, remain completely still. He walked over to his desk and pulled out the papers her had printed off from her computer the night before.

"You don't know what I'm talking about? How's this, then?" he spat, throwing down the files with his face plastered all over them. She flinched at the noise they made as they hit the coffee table. Pictures of him getting out of a car, walking down the street, talking with Butler, all of them there with a simple word, 'Terminate.'

"Well, Miss Smoke? What about this? Directly from your files on your laptop. Can you say you know nothing now?"

She shook her head. Rowan felt tears come to her eyes. Why was she so damn emotional?

He stalked over, grabbed her shoulders, and hiked her up to his formidable height. He was so much bigger than her. All her spy training had suddenly gone out the window, she couldn't remember a single thing she was supposed to do. All she could think of was, well, the baby. And that she was probably going to die.

He shook her. "I'll ask you one last time, politley, before I call Butler in here to get the information, and that won't be pretty. Who sent you?"

She put her hands to his chest to stop his movements, and he complied. She was breathing heavily, mostly from fear and the rough way he was handling her.

"I don't know the employer, I never do. My company was hired to take you out. That's all I know, Fowl," she said quietly.

He looked her up and down, her hair in her face, her eyes downcast. He suddenly let go of her, allowing her to collapse back onto the couch. It was eerily quiet now that he had calmed down.

"I will send Butler in to take care of you. Don't even think about leaving this room. You will regret it."

She nodded, not looking at him. Was she scared of him? He laughed at that; he frightened a world class assassin. He took one last look at her before leaving the room.

Butler was standing outside.

"Butler, take care of our assassinating friend."

"You mean, kill her?"

"No, rough her up, send her back. They'll get the message," Artemis decided after a moment's hesitation.

Butler nodded and watched as Artemis walked calmly down the hall to his computer room. Then he looked through the door to see Miss Smoke, staring at the ground, her arms around her middle. Orders, were orders, he guessed, no matter how distasteful they were, and without another moment, he entered the room and shut and locked the door.

He approached her slowly, sizing her up.

"Are you going to kill me, Domovoi?" she asked placantly.

"No. Not my orders," he answered.

"Just not the stomach, Butler," she sighed.

"Are you going to fight me?"

She stood up and looked at him, smiling. "Of course, dumbass. What type of person would I be if I didn't?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Merry freakin' Christmas, people. And to the person, not mentioning names, who asked if she's pregnant, if you weren't being sarcastic, would you reread chapter....two, I think. That might help your confusion. :) Please, for my Christmas, will you review for me? Please? I know Rowan isn't a good character and I've screwed Artemis up royally, but something must have attracted you to read this! :) **

**From: Normal (as if)**

**To: You!!!**

* * *

Chapter Five

Artemis was surprised how bad he felt as the ambulance pulled out of the driveway. But he didn't think that he felt as bad as Butler did. His body guard was pale, his face pinched.

"She was going to kill me, Butler," Artemis reasoned.

"She warned me not to hit her in the stomach," he replied, sounding regretful. "Should've listened, I guess. What do you think-" he stopped himself, realizing the answer before he finished the question.

Butler had called the ambulance shortly after Miss Smoke promptly passed out after seeing all the blood she had suddenly losing.

Artemis simply stared down the drive a moment, and then turned away. "Prepare a car, Butler; we should follow."

"Of course, Artemis."

At the hospital, Rowan awoke to a sense of loss and pain. Then she remembered her blown cover and the fight afterward. A shaking hand went to her stomach.

"Oh, you're up," a voice came from a corner.

She looked toward it and groaned to see Fowl standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you plan on suing me for the loss of your child?"

She looked at him wearily through one eye. The other one was swollen shut. "What lie did you tell the emergency room?"

"You fell down the stairs."

She laughed. "Classic abuse story, isn't it? And no, I won't sue you. I wasn't going through the pregnancy anyway."

Artemis' smile was cold when he said, "Good, saved you the trouble of an uncomfortable operation then. You're hospital bills are paid for, by the way."

She raised the one eye brow that wasn't swollen. "Any reason why?"

"I wasn't planning on landing you in the hospital, Miss Smoke. I'm not that sadistic. Why were you sent to kill me?" he asked abruptly.

She laughed again. "Dude, I'm hired muscle, they tell me where to point and shoot, and that's about it. I have no clue why they want you dead, they're just paying me a lot of money to make sure you are."

Artemis nodded again, this time absent mindedly. "How much?"

She smiled this time. "An impressive four million. And that's just my cut. Someone really hates you, Fowl."

"Obviously. If I paid you four million, would you allow me to drop off the face of the planet without dying?"

"No."

"How much, then?"

Her grin turned malicious, "Eight."

Artemis whistled lowly. "That's a little out of my price range."

"They'll just send someone else, probably to kill both of us," she stated, and her eyes went to the window.

"I'm sorry," he said abruptly.

She whipped her head around and looked at him confused. "Excuse me?"

"The baby. I'm sorry. I know you said you wanted to get rid of it, but it must be hard to lose a piece of you and your husband-"

"He wasn't my husband," she snapped, anger suddenly flaring in her eyes.

He nodded. "You are a little young."

She scoffed. "Thanks."

"Still, I'm sorry. I didn't even take it into a factor-"

"You had no reason to. And you're right, the constant apologies are annoying. Be quiet," she said. She wanted it to come out harsh, but it sounded like she was pleading, much to her displeasure.

Artemis smiled, leaned back, and crossed his legs. "It seems you and I are a lot alike."

"Hardly. Where's your body guard?"

The man shrugged. "Don't know. He's feeling guilty, so he's probably securing the perimeter. He does that when he's upset."

"I used to too."

"I fuck."

Hearing that vulgar word from a mouth that spoke normally so elegant words had her eye brows almost shooting to her hair line. It was also so out of character from him, her mouth dropped.

He looked surprised at her surprise. "I'm sorry; I thought we were having an…intimate conversation."

"You weren't kidding were you?" she asked.

"No. I don't kid."

She nodded and looked away from him again. He watched her profile and it struck him again how beautiful she was. He had meant what he said and he wasn't going to sugar coat what he did. With the amount of money he had and the fact that he worked out three times a week guaranteed that he always had a woman to satisfy him whenever he wanted. And there was no kind euphemism for his bed play, no making love or anything like that. It was just fucking.

He wondered if it disgusted her that he had told her. Despite her initial reaction, she seemed unphased by it. Interesting.

"I'll leave you to rest then, Miss Smoke. The doctor said he will hold you overnight for observation, but says you should be fine and able to go home tomorrow morning. I'll have Butler pick you up and take you to the airport first thing."

"I have things I need to pick up," she objected as he reached the door.

"Taken care of, Miss Smoke."

"They're just going to send someone else. Someone who's not emotional and won't make the same mistakes I did," she called after him.

"Be more concerned about yourself, Miss Smoke. I will fare just fine," he called back. He was already down the hallway.

She leaned back against the pillows and realized that she hadn't heard from David. Her phone was sitting on the stand beside her and she saw she had four messages from his phone and one text. She reached for her phone and opened her inbox.

_They pulled me off; you're on your own. D_

She laughed. She knew what it meant when they pulled your partner off the case, she had been pulled one time. It meant that whoever was staying behind was not coming back, at least not breathing or in one piece. They retired her, as well they should. It was only a matter of time until a newly trained assassin caught up with her. And by then, she wouldn't care.


	6. Chapter 6

**Random and OOC, but I don't care. It solves a lot of problems, and I could actually end it here. Let me know if you want more. I might attach a lemon chapter at the end if the reviews are plentiful. *wink***

* * *

Chapter Six

_One year later_

Artemis woke up alone in a large bed covered in egyptian cotton cream sheets. He wasn't wearing anything else. He heard the shower running and soft, innane humming coming from the same direction. And he didn't have a clue where he was and who he was with. He could feel the exhaustion in his limbs and cock that told him he had had sex that night, and a lot of it. Which confused him even more.

When Rowan Smoke came out of the bathroom squeezing the water out of her hair with a white hotel towel, memories starting coming back. For example, that they were in Rome together, and had fucked all night. The soft bruises on her collar bone was evidence of their loveplay, as were the whisker burns on her jaw. She looked at him and stopped. Their gazes connected and a blush rose in her pretty cheeks.

"Good morning," she whispered with a small smile.

"Yes, it is," he mused.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Huh?"

She shook her head. "Nevermind."

"No, you said it for a reason," he pointed out as he stood up and walked over to her. She seemed to back off a little as he neared, but caught herself.

"I thought that- well, I always presumed-"

"That men left after having sex?" he finished for her.

She nodded and looked down at her feet. Realizing what she would be looking at on the way down, she looked back up. "Always."

Artemis was mildly insulted, and was about to tell her so when another memory came to mind. She had no other reason to think that, did she?

"I'm different than he is, Rowan. I'm not going to leave any time soon." Because if memory served, they needed each other. That, and she really was a good fuck.

*

_They met in Rome under the same pretenses, that the company she had worked for wouldn't be able to find them. Rome was neutral territory, no assassinations could be done there due to the fact it belonged coincidence or by fate that they met in the lobby of the same hotel._

"_Miss Smoke, we meet again," he said stiffly as he walked up to the check out desk, alone. Butler had traveled to the orient to plant a trail there. Artemis did not want to be stuck in Rome for the rest of his life, so he had Butler plant trails all over the world._

_Rowan glanced in his direction and he saw her swallow. "I'm not here on business, Fowl, I'm sure we're here for the same reason."_

"_To escape your friends?" he asked bemusedly._

"_Yep," she answered curtly. There was a southern drawl to her words now that he hadn't noticed their first meeting. It was oddly beguiling._

_He turned fully toward her and she mirrored him as the concierge looked for empty rooms for them. He smiled at her, and she frowned. "I thought that you were going to kill me if you ever saw me again."_

"_I never said that. We both have a few weeks at most to lay low and you're a beautiful woman, I'm an attractive man. Logically, there are a few possibilities of a good time," Artemis said, his brain wrring to life at the thought of precisely what those possibilities were. He had felt it when she had been staring up at him in his home, and he felt the same knawing hunger that had plagued him that morning._

"_If you mean getting a room together, I'd say you're a pig," she said brightly with a false smile._

_Before she continued to blow him off, he put a hand up to stop her. "Not so drastic, Miss Smoke. I was thinking museums, sight seeing, dinner, and a drink. That's all. It's just for a few weeks, and I'll be gone. What do you say?"_

"_You have an angle, Fowl," she snapped and the concierge handed her a key._

"_Salone Cinquecento y sessanta, signora," he said with a bright smile._

"_Grazi, Signor," Rowan answered and she nodded at Artemis. "Goodbye, Fowl, enjoy your stay."_

"_Rowan," he called after her. "Hold on."_

_Beyond her comphrehension, she held the elevator for him. She hit the button for her floor, and he stood there._

"_Same floor?" she asked._

"_No, I'm following you to yours so I know where it is," he replied honestly._

"_Great," she laughed. "Now who's being an assassin?"_

"_Not here to kill you, Rowan."_

"_It's Miss Smoke to you, Fowl," she growled._

"_All right, calm down," he laughed._

"_What do I have to do in order to get you to leave me alone?" she asked bluntly._

"_Just spend tomorrow with me," he persuaded. "If you still hate me, I will never talk to you again and bygones will be bygones. Deal?" He offered his hand._

_She looked at it, then at him. "Just one day?" she asked._

"_Yes, just one day is all I ask," he told her._

"_Fine," she said, and she grabbed his hand in a quick hand shake. She pulled back before he could even get a firm grip._

"_I'll see you tomorrow say, seven?" he asked as she exited. She stopped the door from closing and turned to look at him. _

"_Ah, hell no. How about nine?"_

"_Eight then," he compromised._

"_You better have coffee," she muttered in surrender, then turned around. Artemis admired the sway in her hips as she walked, and the fine ass the woman had. His little exile had just gotten a little more interesting._

And that's how this week had begun. By the next day, they were old pals. In two more, he had kissed her. The next, she actually kissed him back. The sixth day, he had gotten under her shirt. And yesterday, they didn't even leave the hotel. He had pulled her into his room for lunch, and they kissed their way to the bed, where he proceeded to undress her and she him. He knew that she wasn't a virgin, preferred it that way, but she had been too tight to have done it regularly. It made him wonder who was the guy who had gotten close enough to get her pregnant.

Late in the night, in between sessions while they lounged against each other and gently played with each other's body. He asked and he slowly massaged her breast.

Her hands were gently stroking his chest when she told him. "It was my last partner," she told him. "Before David. He was older than me, a lot older. He was nice, sweet, and funny," she said with a sad smile. "They called me one time when we were on a mission in Prague. Told me to pull out, that Gavin had to handle it on his own. I hung up and started packing. What the superiors say, goes. Immediately. He asked what was going on, and I told him about the phone call. He explained to me what that meant, and I felt so bad for him," her voice was starting to break.

"So you slept with him," Artemis assumed.

"Yeah. He didn't even get undressed," she recalled. "And when it was over, he walked out the door. The last thing he said to me was, 'Be gone when I get back.' And I was. Three weeks later, I was sick. Went to the doctor, and he told me the news. Then I went on the mission for you."

"And the rest is history," Artemis finished as he rolled over to lay between her thighs.

"Again, Fowl?" she asked.

"Again, and again," he laughed. "Until you forget him, and all you remember is me."


End file.
